Marriage
by spyoftherouge
Summary: Bella is the beloved Princess of France. When she has an arranged marriage to the Prince of England, can she re-establish a good reputation with the unwilling Englishmen? Betrayal, adventure, battle, and loss.
1. The dream

**Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight, yada yada ya.**

**Hey guys, if your reading this, I have a poll up on my profile, thank-you if you check it out. I was going to put French translations in this, but it got to complicated, so I deleted it. So, she is the Princess of France. Okay, now on with the story. **

"Would you care to dance Milady?" The gentleman before me asked, as he extended his hand towards me.

I sighed, why not? "With pleasure", I replied while gently placing my hand into his large palm. Of course, his palm was perfectly smooth, the sign of a person who hasn't done a honest day's work in his whole life. He was charming I must admit, but I honestly don't care for the plump old men, that tend to come to these stupid balls anyways.

The orchestrations started the next song and we began to waltz. We twirled in circles for a while, and then came the horrid simple conversation.

"So Princess Isabelle-"

"Princess Bella", I interrupted quickly.

"Excuse me, Princess Bella, you are the daughter of King Charlie and Queen Rene, are you not?"

"Yessir." Short, direct, and to the point is the way to go when dealing with these nobles.

"So how do you feel towards being married?" What? Where is he going with this?

"I suppose it shall happen someday…" I know it's childish, but I wanted one of those fairytale weddings, that your knight in shining armor comes and rescues you from the greatest of evils, and carries you off to a faraway kingdom, to be married, with a bright, and flowery wedding. That to me would be the epitome of true love.

"Wait, mademoiselle, you don't know?" Seriously, what is this man thinking?

"Know what, monsieur?"

"That your paren-"

A little, mousy haired squire stood before us and was tugging on his jacket. "Excuse me, monsieur, your needed at the weaponry."

"Merci, lad. Au revoir, mademoiselle." He turned and was gliding off of the dance floor as I tried to keep up. I was failing miserably, tripping on my dress hem.

"What am I supposed to know?" I called after him, drawing a couple of glances from the surrounding gentlemen and ladies, but no glance for the mysterious man.

The rest of the ball was even worse than usual. Not only was I thoroughly annoyed by all of the other Lords and Dukes there, but I couldn't get the chubby, old man's words out of my head.

I was on auto-pilot for the rest of the night.

Not even paying attention to the very rare handsome men that asked me to dance. I danced with them of course, but their words did not get through to me. I mumbled responses and they were satisfied.

When the ball was over, my servant Gilda and I went back to me quarters, as she dressed me for nighttime. My flowing night gown was a relief to the constant questions running through my mind.

Eventually I climbed into my chilled bed and laid there, staring blindly ahead of me. I'm not sure when, but eventually I drifted off to wondrous dreams.

_I was standing in a gorgeous garden, with billowing roses and a stream flowing down the center, with step stones cutting through it. I wore an emerald green, low cut gown with silver embroidery. The neckline had lace trailing across my collarbone and resting on my shoulders while the rest of the gown tapered down loosely, until it hit the ground. _

_Brilliant birds soared overhead my secret garden, casting shadows across the plentiful greenery. I waltzed through the undergrowth, on the little dirt path barefoot. The loose packed dirt caressed my feet with each step I took._

_The peace was disrupted with one earsplitting screech, from the glowing red dragon that soared overhead, its glinting scales reflecting a soft glow, that highlighted the garden with a soft red tint. _

_The dragon swooped letting a magnificent breath of flame leap over the white roses, until they were dancing red and yellow. The dragon continued to set things ablaze as it neared me, it's jaws snapping open and closed, controlling the passage of flame. _

_I stood there entranced by the dragon as it continued its path of destruction. It took me a while to notice, but the magnificent creature was drawing nearer to me than for comfort. I turned and tried to flee, and that's when I saw the glint of armor emerging from the forest. _

_The proud horse that the knight sat on was a striking shade of gold, a color that I had never before seen on a horse. The night sat there pleasantly, as if you were just having dinner with his court. He drew his sword and charged the dragon on his beautiful horse._

_The dragon dive-bombed him and pulled up at the last moment, releasing a ball of flame at the exact moment that the knight should be travelling under it. The knight realizing the danger that lay before him turned his horse in a circle and galloped around to face the dragon again. The next time the dragon swooped, the knight was faster and jumped from his horse onto the paw of the dragon. _

_The dragon shrieked and flew as high as it could gracefully, all the while trying to kick the knight off of it's claw. The knight started a slow ascent up the dragons leg, holding on for dear life, as the dragon did _

_figure-eights, to rid itself of the gallant fighter. The knight nearing the spine of the dragon held up his sword and plunged it into the heart of the dragon, as it let out a blood-curdling shriek._

_I covered my ears as the dragon descended weakly, and the knight jumped off as the dragon crashed into the ground. The knight rolled to avoid damage, and stood, perfectly erect. He started walking straight up to me._

"_May I see your face, brave Sir Knight?"_

_The most dazzling voice emanated from behind the grill of the helmet, as he said, "As you wish", reaching up to remove his helm. His grill creaked open, and the shadows started to disappear._

I sat up, pin straight in my bed.

I sighed, no matter how often I had this dream, I never got to see his face. I felt my lips form a pout, as I crossed my arms.

I stretched and pulled the covers aside, realizing that the first light was shining through my windows, and that the serfs were already to work in the fields.

I stood, and stifled a yawn. Gilda bustled in and said, "I thought I heard your Greatness about."

"It's Bella honestly, well at least when it's just us. Please stop calling me your Greatness, your Highness, M'lady, mademoiselle. It get's obnoxious, I have a name."

"Alright, your Hig- Bella. Now how about getting dressed?"

I sighed, time for the horrid corset. If anything I dreaded that the most. I couldn't breathe with it on. It is truly evil.

After I was dressed, I wandered the castle aimlessly, mumbling hellos to the passing servants, as the all scurried around.

Eventually I emerged into the gorgeous dining hall.

**Hey everybody, hope you liked it. Anything worth while will come up, next chapter. Oh, and please review. Is it good, bad, horrid? Let me know. And if there are any ideas you want to pitch, I'm open to suggestions. Merci.**


	2. Final fate

**Disclaimer: Still don't own twilight**

**Please review, I only have 3 so far, and it's sad…**

_Previously:_ _Eventually I emerged into the gorgeous dining hall._

The ornate curls of the doorway framed the picture before me. Pillars arched around the room, oak tables lay scattered across the floor in an orderly fashion. The servants scurried along against the wall, and ignored the nobles that were lingering among the pathways.

One of the nobles was my cousin, Alice. I never bothered with a title for her, so over time, I actually forgot it. So she is now just Alice. She was giggling, obviously to something that the old lady standing next to her had said. The lady stood a foot over her, and the woman was not very tall. Alice overall was a cute little pixie with short, black spiky hair, and an adorable face. She was tiny, from a distance you could swear she was about the age of ten. She's really seventeen.

I hurried my walk towards them, tripping over my feet several times in my rush. I had a strange uneasy feeling, but I thought Alice could soothe it. That's just the way she is.

The lady excused herself when she realized I was walking towards them, and Alice turned towards me, I slightly sad air surrounding her. I'll have to ask her why.

"Bella, hi", she said in a slight voice. This is so not Alice… What is going on? First that man at the ball and now Alice.

"Why do you look so sad?"

She stammered for a few seconds then finally muttered, "Nothing." This is nothing like Alice. "So Bella, how have you been?"

"Um, good. I had this weird dream last night. I was running through this garden, and wasn't tripping-"

"Wow that is weird." That did make me laugh a little, but she was still distant.

"Anyways, the garden was beautiful, and then this dragon appeared out of nowhere. It was huge! Then this knight rode out of the forest on his gorgeous horse, and climbed onto the dragon, while it was flying, and he killed it. After, I asked him if I could see his face, as he was lifting his guard I woke up. Alice, I just knew that he would be perfect. I know that he's the one." That sounds just like something that Alice would say, all that mojo about true love and your other half, but I truly believe it.

"Bella that's great, you think you've ever met him? Like do you think he'll be something scandalous like the cook or the stable boy?" By this time we had started walking back towards the entryway, Alice practically floating there and me stumbling along, probably on our way to my room.

"No, I think he's a heroic, somebody who will save the small, stand up for the helpless, and save the world." My thoughts wandered off imagining what his face would look like, but I could never get the eyes just right.

All of a sudden Alice bumped my and stated, "Bella, you're not listening to me."

"Sorry Alice, what was that?"

"So I was over at the stables, and this man, I don't know who he is, rides up on this gorgeous stallion and hands the horse over to Nathaniel the groomsman. I don't know what it was Bella, there was something about him, it was as if I found the other half of my soul, and I just realized that I didn't have half of it. I don't know what to do, I can't even say that I'll see him again…" She trailed off with a disappointed frown on her face and then the inquisition began.

"Bella, have you ever seen a man, blonde hair, beautiful face, tall?"

"Alice, that's practically like half of the castle."

"I know, but there's no other way to describe him. There's just something there, an air of importance in his being, something that tells everyone that he's there to help, to listen. He's just extremely charismatic. I could've sworn I was going to swoon at the very sight of him."

"So, extremely charismatic, huh? I know a couple of them. I can't really remember their titles, but here it goes. Oh, and these are the only blonde ones too, Alexander of Accalade, Jonathon of Ratron, and Jasper of Caledron."

"It's Jasper of Caledron, I can feel it." That was something about Alice, she had an outstanding ability to perceive actual things, without knowing them. It was very interesting.

"Alright, I believe he is staying in the West Wing, would you like to head there and see?"

"Yes!" She answered immediately, as if she were astounded to realize that I wouldn't want to go and see him right away.

"Alright, let's go." We did an about face and headed back the way we had come. We walked into the courtyard and shivered, for the temperature had been dropping considerately in the past few days. We hurried our pace and quickly reentered the palace, now in the West Wing.

"Where now?"

"I believe he would be staying in this hallway. I'm pretty sure he is an Attaché from England. So, I'm not sure how fluent his French will be." I said as I pointed down the hallway on our right. We walked along it, and then there on our left, was a door with a chalk slate hanging on it with the name _Jasper Whitlock_ written on it.

When I glanced to my left at Alice, I noticed her face was red, and she wasn't breathing. I elbowed her lightly and she quickly exhaled and took a deep breath then leaned forward and tapped on the door. We waited several minutes, but nobody came to the door. Just as we were turning to leave I saw a hand land on Alice's shoulder to spin her around. I turned to see what would happen, but nothing happened for awhile.

Then Alice said quietly, "I've been waiting for you."

He just stared into her eyes and said, "Sorry Ma'am." It was odd; it was as if they were communicating through their eyes, instead of words.

The intimate moment shared between them was shattered, as my lady in waiting, Lauren walked up and interrupted rudely.

"Anything I can help you with?" she asked with a sneer and a mocking curtsy.

"No", I stated sharply, "you may be dismissed."

She glared at me for a moment then, "As you wish, Milady." She turned around and strutted off down the hallway and around the corner.

After that, I excused myself, knowing that Alice, as much as she loved me, didn't want me there at the moment.

I aimlessly wandered the hallways, and cavernous rooms. Suddenly, I realized I was outside the door of the library. I walked forward and pushed the heavy doors aside and strolled inside. Once I entered, I was yet again amazed at the vastness of our collection. I walked over to one of the long rows and picked up a scroll, sat a table and read. I was so immersed in my story, I didn't notice that Jacob had arrived until he cleared his throat noisily.

"Hi, Jacob. How are you?"

"Good. How are you holding up? I know you've been against the idea since you first heard of it."

"What on Earth are you talking about Jake?" Well, that's another person acting strangely.

"You mean they haven't told you?"

"I'm guessing not. What is it?" What is going on!

"I-I-I don't think I should tell you if you don't know, I'll let your parents tell you. Good-bye Bella"

"But Jake," at a sharp glance from Jake I mumbled, "bye."

The second Jacob was gone I got up and shoved my scroll back onto its shelf. I marched out of the library with a purpose: Find out what is going on.

I hurried towards the council hall, where I knew my parents would be. Travelling down multiple halls I contemplated, what could be going on. Was there an execution I was unaware of? Probably not, that wouldn't upset the gentlemen I had been dancing with at the ball. I truly couldn't figure it out. I was out of ideas. I must be an incredibly uncreative person.

I stalked towards the council hall and halted a foot away, then threw the door open. I was immediately chagrin for bursting in, for they were in the middle of a conference. Oh well, I was in here now, might as well fulfill my purpose.

I walked rigidly up to my parents and inquired sharply, "Why is everyone acting so strange around me lately? I can't even have a normal conversation. Tell me now what is going on." I stood there tapping my foot as my mom glanced at my dad nervously. My father had a slightly guilty look on his face. He angled his head away so that he wouldn't have to look me in the face.

"We have arranged a marriage, for you within the month."

My jaw dropped and I don't remember what exactly what was said, for to me, those ten words were a death sentence.

**Please review. I only got three on the last chapter. That made me sad. '(**


	3. The ceremony

**Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight**

**Hey, sorry, but I'm going to answer some questions really quickly from my reviews. How can loose dirt be packed? It can't, and I didn't notice I wrote that. The saying "As you wish" I used because I love the Princess Bride, so nice catch. Are all of the characters from the book? Most of them, but a few won't be, well that is if I can come up with them. So if you have suggestions, review away! Oh, and I don't know much about medieval weddings, so I'll try and make it as accurate as possible, don't hate me.**

**P.S. Merci to anyone who reviewed!**

_Previously: My jaw dropped and I don't remember what exactly what was said, for to me, those ten words were a death sentence._

The rest of the week was a blur, as everyone buzzed around doing chores, and preparing the wedding, excuse me, my wedding. Ah… that sounds horrible. Anyways, I can't say that I kept up with anything, I was taken to fittings, dinner parties, and I was told by Alice that Jasper had taken a fancy to her. Usually I would have been soooo happy, but I don't think anything will do that.

Eventually the cursed date had come, my wedding day. I hadn't even met this guy and I have no clue what he's going to be like. Is he going to be charming, a knight in shining armor like in my dream, or is he going to be horrid, someone who would wait in the fringes of the forest until the dragon had already killed me and say that he had fought valiantly? I just hope it won't be the latter. I know the chances are he's not going to be the most splendid man in the universe, I'll probably end up disliking him, and I don't know how I will react to the things he says to me and whatnot. But what my parents say is practically law, so why fight it?

I awoke the morning of my wedding at first light, sweating and frightened. I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew that I had just had a nightmare that had scared me beyond belief. My eyes fidgeted around the room, looking for the unseen foe.

My head whipped around at the sound of muffled footstep in the corner of my room, as Gilda stepped inside. There was a sharp pain in my neck from moving so fast, so I put my hand on my neck and stretched, trying to loosen it.

"Sorry milady for interrupting your sleep", Gilda said with a slight undercurrent of impatience, "but your parents would like you to awaken and prepare for the wedding." I sighed, but knew it was unavoidable, so I pushed my warm blankets off of my legs and rolled out of bed. My foot got caught on a blanket and I landed on my butt with a thud and a,"Ow!" Gilda scurried forward to help me up, but I waved her away and stood on my own.

"Princess, your bath is ready in the other room", she mumbled quietly, yet respectfully, as she motioned towards the door.

"Gilda, you may wait here."

"But, milady, I was told to attend to your every need."

"And my need at the moment is privacy, thank-you." She grumbled to herself something about ungrateful masters, and stalked out of the room, which left me feeling guilty. That only lasted for a second as my thoughts went back to my fate.

I lifted my shift and let it fall to the ground beside me and stepped into the warm bath. Letting the warm water envelope me, I thought over my future. In truth, it wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. He was probably handsome; he would most likely leave me alone to attend to more important business. Of course the discussion of a heir would be taken into place. Honestly for me that was the only iffy part. As I pondered all of this, I stood and gathered a towel around me and called for Gilda. Who promptly walked in with a "New you couldn't do it without me" look on her face, and I sighed, this was going to be a long day.

Later that day, I was dressed in a light pink gown that flowed elegantly towards the ground, and swayed around my feet. My shoes were too tight, and my hair was pulled back into a tight bun, where my veil was tied. I stared the layers of material at the heavy, wooden doors that concealed my future husband. I heard the mindless chatter of the guests (practically half of France), but in the midst of it, I heard thickly English-accented French.

Gilda scuttled up beside me, straightening my veil, although it was perfectly fine.

Suddenly, the large door gratingly opened, revealing a large crowd standing next to an aisle. Everyone was staring at me, well with the exception of the man at the altar. I found that incredibly rude. I was here, against my will, and he wasn't even going to look at me. Well fine, I just won't look at him.

My father walked up from behind me and laced his arm through mine. The wedding march started and we took the first steps that would lead me to my final destiny, marriage.

It was awkward, everyone staring at me, me being such a klutz and all, I can't trust myself to not shame myself.

We edged farther along the aisle and I felt a silent tear trail down my face. The tear was a traitor and I couldn't even wipe it away.

Eventually we arrived at the altar and my father released my arm, kissed me on my brow, and walked off to the side.

The priest started with the terms of the marriage: land agreements, peace treaties, and other things of the like.

I kept fidgeting, wanting so much to look at the mystery prince. I didn't even know his name, all the talk had skipped it, calling him Prince of England, the Prince, the son of the King of England, well pretty much every formal name that avoids calling someone by their true name.

I kept glancing at him through the corners of my eyes, but never getting anything other than he had gorgeous, copper hair. Throughout the whole ceremony he never looked my way once. I never thought I was as drop-dead-gorgeous as my cousin Alice, but I'm not that hideous, plus we're getting married, he should look at me.

Suddenly, I heard the most amazing voice I had ever heard. It was like smooth velvet and I couldn't believe it emanated from him as he said, "I do." Oh crap, he said I do.

I realized I hadn't been paying attention at all to the priest and as soon as I started listening, he stopped talking. I winged it and said, "I do."

The priest concluded with "You may kiss the bride."

I must have missed his name during the ceremony, and that was the only thing I wanted to hear, shoot! That's when his hand gently brushed my shoulder lifting the veil. Before me stood the most beautiful man I had ever seen, with piercing green eyes, that shown with incredible depth. It struck me to notice that he had a hint of reluctance in his eyes. A faint one, but reluctance none the less.

Could he be just as reluctant to marry me, as I to him? I only had a second to ponder it before I felt his warm lips upon mine.

**Hey peoples, chapters over. Okay, well review please, and I'm about to start a new story, so please read that as well if you're into medieval times. Might be up within the week. Yet again, please review.**


	4. Reputations

**Well, I'm running dry on ideas. Got any? Anyways, thanks if you stuck around until now. Please review! D Oh, and any new stories I start, will not postpone my writing of this, but please check out my other stories. Yay! You guys make my day!**

_Previously: I only had a second to ponder it before I felt his warm lips upon mine._

I don't believe I have ever been this bored in my whole life. I've been at Edward's castle for over a week. Not a word from a friend, not a word from my parents, nor a word from Edward, my husband.

It's as if everyone is ignoring me. It's pure torture! That's when I finally decided, I was going to do something about this.

I marched through the hallways with a purpose; I was going to talk to my husband. I must have wandered at least six hallways before I ran into a servant, named Lily. I asked her where I could find my Lord. She pointed off into a small hallway that led to large wrought iron double doors, with quick mumblings about a council meeting.

I thanked her quietly and strode off towards the door, tripping on the hem of my dress. As I neared the door, my pessimistic side spoke up, _What if he doesn't want to see you? _I was startled to see how true that could be. I was starting to reconsider, when I realized I was at the doors. No turning back now, I told myself sternly.

I walked up to the doors and laid my hands gingerly on the iron knots. I took a deep breath and pushed.

Before me lay a grand table with multiple chairs surrounding it. On the table was a large map, with a dagger sticking out from the center. There were also plenty of men gawking at my audacity. I paid them no mind and walked right up to a chair, pulled it out, and sat.

I shrugged and asked, "Do you not expect me to participate?" All of the men looked around nervously, then looked towards Edward, who promptly shrugged.

A balding man, who looked to be about the age of 55 stood, waving his hands in exasperation. "But, she can't take part, she is a girl!" he screeched his protest.

Edward's face hardened into a mask and he started to open his mouth to retort when I spoke, "Yes I am a girl. Do you have any complaints that would have any standing? Or are you going to allow this meeting to continue?" Some of the men glanced at each other and one of them stifled a laugh behind their hand, disguising it as a cough. Edward's eyes danced with laughter, though his face stayed impassive.

The man stuttered some more, then resigned took his seat, with his fists balled up on either side of him.

I then stated, "Continue."

Edward cleared his throat first then said in his velvety voice, "As I was saying, Spain has been raiding our borders, and our crops are being burned. Our civilians are starving to death, while our soldiers are greatly outnumbered. Do any of you propose a solution?"

Many of the men stirred then raised their hands to answer. The meeting went on in a manner of such, and I had an equal part to say.

From them on, I attended all of the council meetings, and others of the sort. Nobody protested outright, but many did show their bitterness.

I spent another month or so attending the council's when I decided, why should I advise them while they take all of the risks? I asked my chambermaid where the men practiced archery, and she said down at the open courts out of the way of the stables, and riding grounds.

Next I visited the armory. The man who was in charge, held himself proudly and looked as if he could run down even the best knight in the kingdom. He had is hair cropped short on both sides, with speckles of gray flecked throughout his grey hair. He had a scar running from his left shoulder blade down to his forearm, that a thick bulge of scarring. He had thin lips and a small nose, and beady eyes, that looked like they could see a mouse on a plain.

He looked down at me contemptuously as I entered the armory, with my chin held high, and my obvious stubbornness etched out across my face. I marched up to him, and he looked slightly taken aback by my forwardness.

"Yes, your highness?" he asked with defiance. He gazed straight into my eyes, assessing me.

"I need a bow. I'll need your preference on which type would most likely fit me. I will need strings and an oiled cloth for the string and I will need at least two dozen arrows. Thank-you." He stared at me intently, waiting for me to say, joking or something else.

After a few moments he realized he wasn't going to get a disclaimer, so he stated, "Our bows are back here." He gestured toward a dark corner of the loud armory where two racks of bows stood, one long, one short.

I walked over to the racks, with the master right on my tail, and glanced over all of the bows. They were all glossy from polishing and had perfectly curved frames. I picked up a short bow and tested the flexibility, marveling at the springiness of the wood, how the handle fit my hand. I was just about to accept it, when the training master waved his hand over and saying, "It's no good for your build. You look like you could easily hold a long."

I followed him over to the other rack of hanging bows, and he handed one to me. It had a glossy coat and after testing proved to be a simple pull. He shook his head yet again, was he going to say that none of these fit me?

We walked two bows over and there, was a white ash bow, longer than most, about at my shoulder. It had a polished surface, where if you moved your hand in front of it you could see the reflection. I picked it up and noticed that it was extremely light. I asked for a string, and strung it quickly, from the years of practice in France.

I pulled the string gently and was surprised that it was incredibly easy to draw. The handle practically caressed my hand.

The training master was nodding, showing his pleasure openly.

"I love it when someone finds a perfect fit, it's as if they are actually paying me a compliment." I giggled slightly at his comment, but quickly became quiet when I realized that he was completely serious.

"I'll take it. Thank-you kind sir." I turned and left after giving him a copper bit for his troubles. I followed a worn path down to the training yards. I looked around as slowly all of the men who were practicing turned to stare at me.

One of them yelled a jeer, but I ignored him and kept moving. I walked down to the archery field and stood next to a post that marked where to shoot from. The target was a good 30 yards away. I pulled an arrow from the quiver that the training master had so generously supplied.

I placed the arrow on the string and tested the balance. I lined up on the line, pointed, and loosed. The arrow flew towards the target, entering on the outer rim. I took a deep breath and tried again, landing one line farther in.

I kept going taking steps towards the center, until finally I hit dead center. I loosed another, watching it thud into the center yet again.

The men who surrounded me's faces went from contemptuous to astounded. As my arrows continued to hit the center of my quarry.

A broad faced man, with a barrel chest stepped forward, with a grunt. He carried an extremely stiff looking longbow and had a grimace on my face, of distaste or pain, I'm not sure. He limped forward on a bowed leg and finally bellowed, "How do you think you are, taking our courts?"

I turned to face the man, eye to eye, "I am Princess Isabella of France, wife to Prince Edward and the monarch of this castle."

"Sorry, milady, we didn't hear tale of your magnificence with a bow."

"Thank-you. It's not widely known. I only practiced on home courts. You may go back to your practice."

**Hey, thanks for reading till here, try and get up the next one within a week. D**


	5. Evangeline and duels

**Yea! I got over a 2,300 views total out of all of my chapters! I so happy! Anyways, I want to try and get to 100 reviews, I'm about half way there. I'm okay with flames to, if it means a review, I just want peoples input.**

_Previously: "Thank-you. It's not widely known. I only practiced on home courts. You may go back to your practice."_

I was glad to say I had earned respect in the castle, even if not from Edward yet. I would get him to talk to me, whether he wanted to or not.

I had a little troop of men who would come to the archery courts every day, to have a training session with me, the barrel-chested man being one of them.

I was just finishing up one of those sessions, when a stable boy walked up to me.

"Milady, I has been told to giv' ya a horse. Would you like to choose 'un now?" I looked at the teenager boy, just a few years younger than me, I nodded once to him while wondering who would tell him to get me a horse. I can't ride a horse.

Last time I was near one it bit me. That was not the best memory of horses I have ever had, curse that Midnight.

The boy had already turned down a hall and was leading me to the stalls of the extra horses.

He stopped in front of a stall with a gelding with brown and white splotches. She snorted at me and turned away rather rudely if I said so myself. I quickly shook my head, for I didn't want a repeat of the Midnight accident.

He stalked to the next stall, and waiting inside was a gorgeous red roan. She had a long mane and bright eyes. She had an air of defiance about her, but she looked compliant enough.

I asked quickly if I could take a look at her. He opened the stall and I quickly jumped in, stumbling over a pile of hay. I caught myself by hanging onto the rough sidings. I readjusted my stance and then walked towards the roan.

She stared me in the eye for awhile, then looked away and started drinking some water from a bin.

I examined her corded muscles running up her legs and at her alert ears. All in all, I thought she was perfect.

"How much is it to pay for her?"

The boy looked confused for a moment the recuperated and stated, "The man who ordred me to git you that horse paid a'ready."

I was taken aback, I didn't know anyone liked me enough for that.

"I'll take her then. Thank-you for your help lad." He looked slightly annoyed, but he shook it off and regained his composure.

"Beggin' yur pardon Miss, but I must attend to me knight massers horses now."

"Oh, of course, go."

I spent the next 30 minutes brushing and grooming my horse. I looked her over several times and decided on naming her Evangeline.

I quickly decided that I would ride her tomorrow, to get my skills back up to par.

I patted her head one last time and then set off to find my husband, it was time we got to know each other.

I found him in the council hall yet again, but this time he was consulting with villagers. I walked in on a case of stolen sheep.

One peasant was claiming a sheep was taken from him and slaughtered. The other was shaking his head fervently, saying over and over again that he hadn't taken the sheep.

Edward looked like he was actually thinking it over, couldn't he see the malicious glint in the accusers eyes. He just wants more money and to watch his neighbor struggle.

I walked over to Edward's throne and asked him quietly what he was thinking. He answered curtly that he wasn't really thinking, he already knew the peasant was innocent.

"Then why are you making him suffer?"

"I'm not really, and plus if I answered to quickly the other one would think I favored the honest man and hate me. I need to act like I'm giving it thought." My mouth opened slightly to refute him, but then I couldn't think of anything to say. He was right.

I stepped back and sat on a little chair and waited till the end of the case. The case was over fairly quickly, because of the firm hand of justice wielded by Edward, sorry that's kind of overdramatic. He had a level head and dealt out a fair hand of punishment.

I tripped over to Edward, to ask where he was going next.

"I'm going to the training grounds. Would you care to accompany me?"

"Only if you'll fight me when we get there." He looked disbelievingly at me.

"From what I see throughout the castle, could you stay on your feet long enough to fight me?"

I let out a humorless laugh and just stared at him. He quickly looked away and said quickly, "Fine, come on."

I was pretty good all around about the weapons, so I let him choose how we would fight. He choose staffs. Fun…

I walked into the armory and was hurriedly outfitted in a set of leather armor. I flexed my muscles so I would be loose then walked into open ground. Apparently word had gotten out about our fight, because a huge crowd was mulling around aimlessly on the grounds.

I shook my head slowly then looked up. There surrounded by his loyal servants, or his friends, was Edward, looking slightly smug and twirling his staff carelessly. If that was any indication of how he fought, how did he expect to win?

I called out loudly, "Then, are you ready, your highness?"

He raised an eyebrow at me and my sarcastic voice, and stood.

We faced off and stood with our staffs in hand. We waited until someone told us to begin and I swung, fast. He tried to dodge, but he hadn't expected me to actually try and fight him.

I hit him sharply on his left shoulder, which wiped that stupid smile off of his face.

He squared himself up against me then swung, obviously not using much force. I dodged easily and fell back to look at him again. He was rolling his shoulder, which had to hurt, quite a lot.

He raised his staff and I pulled mine up to counter, but I underestimated him, for he brought his staff down and hit me across the side. Searing pain shot down my leg and I felt my leg wobble, but I held still.

I nodded at him, showing him I acknowledged that he could fight well, but instead of resigning I lunged forward, taking him by surprise. He stumbled backwards and I hit him on his right wrist. He dropped his staff and I swung, stopping an inch from his neck.

"I submit", he said as I withdrew. He laughed quietly then mused to himself, "and to think, by a woman. That is amazing."

"Is it really that surprising?" I felt myself asking unwillingly.

"Not really, I shouldn't have underestimated you. I suppose I need to work on my sta-"

"Sir, Sir!" yelled a little boy, hurtling down the hill at an alarming pace. Edward quickly reoriented his face and looked at the boy seriously.

"What is it?"

"Urgent news from your parents!" The boy leaned over breathless trying to breath. Edward kneeled and asked for the scroll. The child handed it over the dropped to his knees.

He opened the scroll, read it, again, then looked up and glared over at me.

**Sorry this took soooooooooooo long. I have ton of homework. A 150 problem packet in Science, and History. A page full of assignments in math. Read ****a lot ****of chapters in Language, then write a children's book in French! Fun, huh? Well I'm not here to make excuses so I tried to get this finished, and here it is!**


	6. Betrayal

**Hey, sorry the last one took so long, I just forgot how amazing it was to hear from you peoples! So here's the next chapter!**

**Also, a thank-you to go out to the advice of Lady of Spring Rain. Thank-you! If you see anything else that needs to be checked feel free to tell me. Yet again, flames are welcome, as long as you tell me what's wrong with it! Thank-you to all. =D**

_Previously: He opened the scroll, read it, again, then looked up and glared over at me._

"Edward, what is it?" I demanded from him, while he just continued to glare.

"I'm sure you already know! How long has your family been planning this? Was it set up before or after our marriage?" He exclaimed as he turned on his heel and started marching off of the field.

"What are you talking about? Turn around and face me!" I yelled after him as I tried to run to keep up with his long legs. I kept tripping until suddenly he spun and I knocked into him. "Just tell me what it is!"

"Not like you didn't know", he said as he threw the scroll onto the ground and strode off. I didn't bother trying to give chase, for the scroll was here, plus, he was also way too far away.

I bent down and grabbed the scroll, then hurried away from the quizzical gazes of the men.

I scurried through corridor upon corridor until I came to my chambers. I closed the door and held the scroll in front of my face.

I looked down at the dirty scroll, not truly wanting to know what lay hidden behind its broken seal.

I hesitantly started to roll it open and started to read.

_**Edward,**_

_**Raiding parties from Spain have been attacking our borders for the past few weeks. Their armies are becoming increasingly sporadic and unpredictable. We cannot set up a base for they burn it to the ground before the base is constructed. **_

_**Everyone knew we would have to eventually have to face Spain. That was just an encroaching displeasure. The thing that truly irks me is their allies, the French. It seems your marriage was just a ploy for a shallow trust. The Spanish and French have been working out war plans throughout the winter. Unless we find an ally worth having by our side, we might not be able to fight them off.**_

_**We need you to ready your entire army and march by the end of the week. Go to the South-Western Border. General McCarty will be waiting, you will corroborate with him until I have more definite orders for either of you. Build a fort and name it what ever takes your fancy. **_

_**Sincerely,**_

_**The King of England, Carlisle**_

By the end of the letter I was completely speech

less. No wonder Edward was outraged. My parents had betrayed him and his parents. And he thought I had helped plan it. How could my parents set me up, and disgrace themselves?

I had to find Edward and get him to understand I didn't have anything to do with this. He won't believe me, but I have to try.

I sprinted into the hall, through corridors until I found someone. I asked quickly where I could find him and I set off again. They said he would be in the barracks preparing his men and doing ration counts.

I hurried towards his location and arrived some eight minutes later.

Some of the men gawked at my audacity, but I didn't care. I walked on, barging into his office.

"Do you really believe I have something to do with this?" I asked quickly before he could tell me to get out.

"Can you prove you don't?"

"No, you have to trust me!" This really is a futile attempt.

"Your parents have really helped me realize all people deserve trust, didn't they? Just because of this, I believe you can control my soldiers. I trust you that much. Or would you be like your parents and make them traitorous?" How could he?

"You impudent ass! You have no proof against me and I have no evidence to defend myself. Who knows even you could have helped? Would you still like to go on and say that I'm guilty, too? Who knows, maybe he's in on it as well?" I screamed as I pointed to one of his commanders in a corner of the room, who looked extremely uncomfortable.

He stared at me for a second and then resigned, "I was rude and out of place, will you forgive me Bella?"

I was to shocked to answer at the moment.

**This is my shortest chapter, but I wanted to post and I have to go, so please give me feedback!**__


	7. Chapter 7

**Long right?**

_Previously: I was to shocked to answer at the moment._

"Ummm… Your sorry?"

"Yes, I am. Does it surprise you?" he asked me intently.

"Well, actually, yes. I just called you an ass, and _your_ apologizing?" I was utterly confused. Never mind, it was his fault, he accused me of treason.

"As I said, yes." He looked completely sincere.

"Oh, okay? Well then, I guess you'll be perfectly fine to have me outfitted with some armor?" I asked, deadly serious.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

"No, I'm not", I said shifting my foot and putting my hand at my waist where my sheath rested. " I just bested you in a fight and you expect me to just sit here and let my parents ruin my reputation?"

"N-"

"I will not let you march into battle and risk your life while I sit by like a little midwife. What did you think I was going to do when you got that scroll?"

"Ma-"

"No. I'm fighting!"

"Bella!" He said quickly, snapping me back into the real world.

"What?" I snapped.

"You can come."

"Oh…" He turned quickly in the other direction and headed to the armory.

**Very short! I know. It's a start back into writing!**


	8. AN

Oh my god… I haven't written in so long and yet I still have supporters. It kind of astounds me. I thought people would be like , how could she, grrr… Forget her. Well that is if you liked the story. Anyways even if you didn't like and you're tagging along because it's fun to make fun of. Well thank-you for reading my work anyways.

Ok. I get bored with things very easily and that is what happened to this, but I kind of feel guilty leaving you guys hanging. So I've decided to try and write again. I will attempt to make the next entry my longest and I will try and admit it in less than a week. If I don't I am incredibly sorry, but what can you do? Anyways, thank-you all for the support and I will try and continue writing this story. And feel free to post questions, and in reference to somebody's question, yes they did sleep together on the first night. I just didn't find it relevant to add it to my story, and she is not pregnant, by the way. So have fun and enjoy all of your exploits on Fan Fiction. Have fun!


	9. War

**Wow… This is weird, writing again. Anyways I'm sorry if there are some inconsistencies I might not remember every detail. Sorry. **

_Previously: "Oh…" He turned quickly in the other direction and headed to the armory. _

I started to trot to keep up the unsteadiness of my gait forcing me back a few steps.

"Really, that's it, after you tried to not let me go, made it seem absurd, it's just an okay?"

He didn't even stop and turn to tell me, "Basically."

"Are you sure, no ulterior motivations, or creepy people trying to bribe you, nothing?"

"I'm telling you Bella, nothing at all, I figure if you really want to do this, you will find a way to do it and no matter what I say from here on out will change it. So are you going to stand there all day", I hadn't even noticed I had stopped moving, "trying to get me to stop you or are you going to come on and get outfitted?"

I quickly ran past him and into the armory without a second glance.

The gauntlets are my least favorite part. The other's of the armor I can deal with. It's just the gauntlets. I don't even know what it is about them. Their just annoying. The whole set is excruciatingly obnoxious but I guess necessary if I actually want to survive three minutes.

I had gotten a new maid, Vivian who actually doesn't speak French, but I can understand her oddly enough. She had helped me through the last few days with the dressing and undressing of the metal suit, and other necessities of getting ready for war. The cruel reality was setting in that I just forced myself upon the army to kill people.

I suppose I would be willing to kill someone if for a cause, but all I can think of right now is how much I really want to get revenge on my parents. I mean, how dare they sell me off, tarnish my good name, and betray me, all within a few months. This is just not what I want.

Over the last few days I have attended the war council meetings and saying my part. I've been having the dream with the dragon and my secret garden again, and yet I still haven't seen his face, still haven't figured out the mystery that is my gallant knight. Even if I haven't seen his face, there are still alterations, as in the fact that now I'm not wearing my gorgeous green dress. I'm wearing breeches and a baggy burlap shirt. With holes cut in the sides for sleeves and a hat with my hair rolled so I look somewhat like a man. I don't know if this has anything to do with anything, but it is disturbing.

The last few weeks before me have to ride crawl by slowly and painstakingly. The few conversations between my husband and I are brief and always about war. But soon enough, the day was here.

"Muster!" The masters of the yards were yelling for the apprentices and soldiers and anyone going to war to join us at the common area, near the archery range.

Quickly I gathered my supplies and jumped onto Evangeline. I arrived later than most of the other soldiers, but they had been lingering in the yard for just this purpose.

I saw Edward near the front and I rode quickly up.

"What are you planning on doing? Frontal charge? Or do you have another tactic?" I quickly asked, once I arrived. He slowly turned his head scanning along the mass of moving soldiers.

"I'm going to send someone to infiltrate their lines first. Start a word of doubt amongst their men and make them believe that we are coming from the sides. Let them believe that we are stronger than we are so that they will leave the front an open target with very little men left to guard."

I looked at him. Who in the world could he trust enough to send behind enemy lines, with the risk of exposure?

"Who will you send?"

He stared blankly in front of him for several moments until he turned towards me and answered, "Jasper Whitlock. At least that's who I wanted to send. I haven't seen him since his bloody trip to France."

I quickly thought back and remembered that that was who Alice had met and thought was her soul mate. "Well, if I could get in touch with my cousin Alice, you might be able to get your man back in time. If not, well, then you could perhaps send someone else…"

What the hell am I doing?

"Like who?"

No, no, no, no, no, stop right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Like me."

I told you not to! You idiot, why did you do that?

"Are you insane, Bella?!"

I thought quickly and then decided, it was out there, might as well continue towards it.

"I probably am, most likely. But it would be perfect. Of all people they would expect a gentlemen of high standing to spread the word, mayhap even a lady. But a lady dressed like a farm boy with a horse, back on his way from seeing the royalties. That might get a rise out of some of them. To get them to believe that it actually is a possibility that I am not lying."

He's never going to fall for this…

"Absolutely not."

"Why is it just that I'm a lady, or because I'm royalty?"

"It's because… well, because… ummm."

"Do you have a point to keep me or are you just trying to find a way to make sure that I don't get to do anything, backing out of your promise to let me fight before?"

He looked shocked at that idea, but also rather ashamed. He glanced down, then looked back up with a completely determined look.

"You will dress like any common boy. You will not speak English at all costs. No matter what, blow off the mission if it will keep you safe. Do whatever you need to survive, and most of all, do not get caught."

I'm going on a mission, I'm going on a mission. I chanted in my head like a mantra.

"Okay, I'll get me stuff right now."

As I trotted off, I could've sworn he said that he thought I would turn it down on any real chance of getting the permission to go.

**Well, not my longest but it passed 1,000, so it will work for now… Well have fun!**


	10. Beginning

**I'm back…!**

Evangeline is not the most stable of horses. Say you took an insane person with an extreme case of paranoia and throw a little bit of a stalker actually following them and you have a human version of Evangeline.

She rears at every animal that so much moves a branch and at any bird that barely stirs the wind. Sounds are her worst nightmare and she's skittish with jumps. This horse, is no where near a war horse. Only thing I can think is that he was mistaken when he gave her to me to use in war, or he'd been planning not to let me fight. If it was the latter he wouldn't be conscious for long when I get back.

I had just recovered Evangeline from a very traumatizing encounter with a turtle the size of the King's seal. One good thing about my skittish baby is, before she freaks out, she wiggles her ears, like a little fly is messing with her and she's trying to shake it off.

Three days into my ride to Spain, Evangeline started to wiggle her ears. It wasn't like usual, I don't know how she did it, but she stayed completely calm, just shook her ears. At first I was confused and then shocked, and when I recovered from that I heard it. The shallow footsteps falling evenly together, with at least five people, maybe more.

The way the feet fell it was obvious they were trained to march, question was, were they hostile soldiers?

Quickly I jumped down from Evangeline and grabbed my cap from the saddle bag. I tugged all my hair up and balanced it precariously on my head, placing the hat on top. A few strands escaped, but that was okay, don't have enough time to fix it. I pulled on my cloak, lifting the hood and leaving it up. I took off my sword, leaving the daggers in my boot, strapped to my arm, at my hip and attached to my back.

The sword was attached to the right side of Evangeline's saddle, so it was carefully hidden. Any real looking and it would be revealed. I stepped towards Evangeline's head and took the reins, walking forward and to the left of her. I started humming and preparing to act surprised when I was surrounded by the soldiers.

The Spanish soldiers came at a swift pace, faster than I would have thought, and formed a semi-circle around me, casting wary glances around, making sure I was alone.

"What is your business here?" a man with a beard, I'm assuming the captain, demanded harshly with a tortured Spanish accent in French.

"Me master has me sending word to his brother at the border about their mum. She's really sick. They believe with the influenza. They wanted me tell them all about how she's doin' and her fits of discomfort and her other times of-"

"Enough! What's your master's name?"

Ummm… "Charleston. Rober' Charleston. His brother's name is William. He have some children named Wilma and Killian. Their mum's is-"

"Just the master!"

"Rober' Charleston."

"And for what are you apprenticed?"

Darn… what can it be, what can it be…

"Iron smithee."

"Liar", a scrawny boy with light fluffy white hair and a little mole on his left cheek yelled.

How did he catch me?

The captain turned to the boy, "How would you know Francisco?!" he yelled with an expression of disgust. Poor kid, he's just calling my bluff, and getting scolded.

"My pa knows Robert Charleston, and his brother William and his kids Wilma and Killian, who are practically my cousins. He's a gold smith. Not an easy mistake to make, huh, is it?" He sounded so sure of himself and proud that he could help, I felt kind of sorry for him with his horrid commander.

The captain started his tortured French again, by asking, "Explain yer'self youngling'."

What do I do? Dang'it. Ummm…. What would Edward do. Talk his way out. I can't do that. Okay what can I do, there are six of them not counting the one war horse travelling with them. I could always fight.

That sounds good. Let's just hope I'm not to arrogant and I really can do it.

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm with Robert. Your kid's lying." In the background I heard a protest of being called a kid. I laughed inwardly and hoped he wouldn't be much good in a fight, because I'm probably getting on his nerves.

"Nah, he's not. He's annoying, unrespectable, undependable, and several other unmentionables, but he's honest. Detain him."

Without another word I raised my hands, they were slightly shocked by the sign of surrender, and it gave me enough time to grab the dagger from on my back. While all of the guards tried to draw their swords, the captain took a dagger to the abdomen. He dropped quickly yelling to grab me. I had already jumped behind Evangeline drawing my sword from its scabbard.

I rounded Evangeline, just before she reared, kicking at a soldier that was trying to come up behind me. As the soldier and she fought I held off two soldiers. I nicked the burly man to my right, making him cry out and reach for his hand, which had a bloody gash in between his thumb and fingers. While I was taking care of the man on my right the teenager to my left had veered. It was out of peripheral vision for a long time until I realized he was missing.

I turned my back on the man clutching his hand, to search for the missing boy. I saw at the last second his swing, avoiding the loss of my right arm, though he dashed right along my shoulder, leaving a line of blood trickling down my arm.

"Well that hurt", I said in my normal voice. I realized my mistake slightly after I said it; I hadn't made my voice deeper. I sounded like a woman.

The young man gasped and I quickly ran my sword into his side. He dropped with a thud and a grunt, with my sword and then lay still. Francisco and the last man, for Evangeline had taken down her soldier, stood up from making sure the captain was alright.

The glanced around and saw their three comrades on the ground. They charged suddenly giving me enough time to draw my hip and arm daggers. One to each hand, the left one slightly longer, felt comfortable like I never fight with a sword, always daggers.

Francisco ran at me first and I brought my two daggers in an x over each other stopping the movement of the blade. I twisted my wrists and he released the sword, where it fell to the ground and stayed. He backed up slowly and hid behind the older man. I actually laughed at him, vocally. He was such a coward that he had forgotten his short sword and dagger hanging from his hip. Francisco was so close to the other man that the elder-looking man gently shoved him away, where he fell in a little heap.

I rolled my eyes at the pathetic show and positioned my feet farther apart, ready to dodge to either side.

The elder man had a weathered face with pitch black hair and specks of gray. He looked kind enough, I just wish I didn't have to fight him.

He moved faster than I thought possible, catching me off guard. I stumbled back as he struck at my hand, catching the hilt of my dagger, a centimeter from my hand. I lost my grip and my right dagger fell. I continued to back up, parrying his strong blows with my left dagger. My grip was starting to get lax and I wearily stepped backward, stepping on a root sending me sprawling.

My right ankle throbbed and my hip was bleeding slightly. My dagger was at least six feet away. I scrambled backwards with the man approaching, the tip of his sword following my neck. My back hit a tree and I stopped; my legs scrunched up against my chest, on the off chance I could stand up.

I glanced at the position he was in and realized quickly he had made a mistake, his right leg was just a little too far out.

"Sorry."

He looked utterly surprised and said, "What?"

I didn't answer as I swung my good left leg out and swept his feet off of the ground. I rolled just before his sword fell on top of me and drew the dagger from my right boot. I quickly threw the dagger at Francisco, who had decided that I was defenseless enough for his taste and pegged him in the right shoulder. He crumpled, sobbing and I realized that it was barely even a wound; the dagger I threw was tiny. It was truly hilarious.

I stood up and nearly collapsed, my right ankle was searing. By the time I steadied myself the older man had tried to start rising. I didn't waste much time. I limped over to the man with my sword running through him and pulled it. Poor sap, he was still alive. I walked past the old man with a sharp blow to the head with my hilt, knocking him unconscious. I repeated the act on anyone still conscious and looking around.

I dragged my leg which was starting to get really tingly after me on my way to retrieve all of my daggers.


	11. Unexpected Arrivals

**Hey… Criticism is welcome, just saying. But if you are going to criticize it, please give me something to work with and to improve on. Thank-you to everyone who reviewed. **

_Previously: Went back to my pathetic room and went to sleep._

I awoke to a barely rising sun, as I groaned from the sharp pain emanating from my ankle. I glanced around and noticed something sticking out from the entrance of my door. I stood, fell, braced myself and walked over to pick up the small piece of bark.

On one side was a rough and grainy texture, but on the other side was rubbed smooth wood with sporadically scrawled letters running across it. It was short and to the point.

_I know what you're doing, I have proof. Meet me by the stables. 7 o'clock._

Just what I need… Probably one of the soldiers. I looked over at the sun, it looked about 6 or so. I had an hour till then. I wasn't planning on sticking around. I bundled up all the gear I owned and headed towards the stable.

I was just entering the stall with Evangeline when a hand wrapped around my mouth and everything went blank.

I opened my eyes to a well lit room with a woman sitting in the corner on a rickety, woven chair. I looked down to find myself able to move and the bandage on my shoulder changed. I was laying on a bed with a patchwork quilt and a gray, lumpy pillow.

"You're awake. I'm glad Emmet has been going insane waiting for you. He just went out to check on your horse." I slowly looked around to the woman in the corner, who happened to be extraordinarily gorgeous. She had thick, lustrous gold hair waving down to her middle back and piercingly blue eyes.

"Wh-", I choked realizing that my voice was incredibly ragged and my throat felt like it was burning.

"Oh, here. You've been out for awhile", she said as she handed me a flask of water and a slice of tough bread. I stared at them for awhile and when she noticed she said, "We're not going to poison you, we didn't even knock you out."

"Then, who are you?" I asked after taking a swig of the water.

"We're your so called guardian angels. Edward sent us after you; make sure you didn't get killed."

"Oh, how sweet." I said rather straight, even though I meant to say it sarcastically. "Love the trust." I mumbled under my breath, even while I was thinking, 'He cares!'

I tried sitting up, but the whole world spun and I fell back heavily onto the bed.

"Yeah, that was one bad head shot. We barely got there before you were kicked to your poor helpless death." I flinched at the realization that I hadn't even checked if there were people making sure I didn't try and get away before the appointed time. What an idiot.

"Nice way of putting it."

"Why avoid it? I just don't get why peo- Emmet!" She jumped up and ran to a rather large man standing in the doorway. She leaped into the air and gave him a hug, while he caught her and gave her a kiss on the forehead, for even though she had jumped, she still wasn't tall enough to be even with him.

"Hello. Rosalie, how long has she been up?" He asked with a deep playful voice, even though he was dead serious.

"About five minutes", she replied as he set her down and she laced one arm through his and around his back, pulling him forwards.

"Is she feeling bett-?"

"Hey, I'm awake, speaking person over here." He looked at me for the first time as a sentient being and not an object to be discussed.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. How do you feel?"

"Like I was hit." Wow, corny response. Even I know that was stupid.

"Alright. Well then, who were they?" How would I know, I didn't see them.

I thought and quickly realized it was probably Francisco and a few of the other soldiers. Only two had serious injuries: the guy Evangeline took down and the guy who heard my voice.

"Probably some soldiers I took down yesterday." I said shrugging it off like it wasn't anything.

"You fought soldiers?" Emmet exploded. "You 'took down' soldiers yesterday and it's not a big deal. You have got to be joking. There is never an end when a squad is messed with. They'll come and track you down again and again, until you're dealt with. Which usually happens within the first few tries. And this morning, you came seriously close to it. Good thing that was just a vigilante job. I'm guessing the rest of the squad didn't know someone was taking revenge."

He was right, but I'm not going to let him know that. I dropped my head back down; I hadn't even noticed I had lifted it. My fingers started twitching and I realized how impatient I was. I tried sitting up again to clear my head. I was able to steady myself before I crashed and I sat dazedly for several seconds before being able to focus.

I finally had a chance to look around; it was a cute house with colorful touches everywhere. There were spices hanging in the corner and several barrels, probably with salted meat. There was a hay loft and I realized that this was someone's house.

"Whose house is this?" I asked, feeling suddenly very nervous, I felt like I should be guilty for intruding or something.

Rosalie answered, "My friend Angela and her husband Ben. Their letting us stay for a little while, so long as we don't lure in more assassins."

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that", I mumbled under my breath.

"So, we're going to lay low, then we're going to go to a different town and then spread the word. Any mention that any one knows what we're up to and we are done. We go home, no arguments, no rebellion. Not a word. Understand?" Emmet asked me.

I nodded and started of thinking of ways to mess with people. Maybe I could leave a crumpled piece of paper somewhere near intelligence with plans drawn on it. I can spread word as if I'm a drunk. What else… what else? Could just act like a travelling gossip. Maybe.

"I vote we go now, before someone else catches me." Rosalie looked like she was considering it, but Emmet looked flabbergasted.

"How many people have you messed with?" he quickly asked. I glanced at him, widened my eyes innocently and looked away. He sighed, exasperated.

Rosalie quickly interjected before Emmet could start another rant, "I'm with Isabella here."

"Bella."

"Sorry, but we need to get moving, if someone is on to us we need to be out of here." She moved over to the corner with the chair and started collecting all of her belongings.

"Rose… You're siding with her?" Emmet was astounded.

"Why not? I can tell what she means and it seems the most reasonable." Thank-you Rosalie!

"But, with her?" Poor Emmet…

"Yes, so are you coming, too?"

"I suppose.

We moved out less than five minutes later. We all had a horse so we got out of the town generally quickly.

The road was slightly spooky, knowing I had someone trying to track and kill me. The sun was setting, so little dapples of blood red light poured through the leaves and fell across our faces. There was a hollow sound like wooden chimes echoing aro-

Evangeline reared up, as me, unprepared, toppled off, landing on my hurt shoulder.

For the second time that day, I blacked out.

**Hope this was somewhat faster that what I've been doing and that you guys enjoyed it. All types of reviews welcome! And thank-you to all of the people who have reviewed. Have a great day!**


	12. Newcomers and Beer

**Hi people. Ummmm… Sorry about stopping for what over a few months? I'm not really sure. But well here it goes. **

When I came to I was strapped to the back of Evangeline with Rosalie and Emmet on either side, bracing me.

"What happened?" I slurred suddenly. Emmet looked up shocked that I was awake.

"There was a ratty hat sitting on the side of the path."

"A hat? Really? You've made it to a new level of paranoid Evangeline. Good girl." I said absently as I stroked Evangeline's mane.

"So, how do you know Edward?" I asked absently.

Emmet's eyes glinted wickedly as he turned to answer, "I'm his personal weapons advisor. Although truly I think he just keeps me around because he needs someone to laugh at."

I laughed internally although I kept a pretty straight face thinking of Edward laughing at Emmet. It was just so stupid.

Rosalie slapped Emmet on the back of the head and then said, "He may be his weapons advisor, but they've been best friends since what they were eight? Was that it?"

"Oh…"

The rest of the ride to the neighboring village was rather quiet as we sat and rode.

Eventually the town came into view with an adorable little shack on the outskirts.

We continued on the cobbled streets hearing the vendors calling out with their different products as the peasants scurried around us trying make a living. A horse rider galloped by as the peasants begged for money. He just spit on them and rode off. I was appalled.

We came across a bar, the perfect place to start doubt. Everyone thinks you're telling the truth if you're completely drunk. I dismounted and hobbled over to the doors. My leg still ached horridly as if it would be better not to have it. I already had my hat on so that was no problem, with the whole gender thing.

I found a wobbly chair and sat. I called out above the ruckus that was surrounding me as Rose and Emmet entered, choosing a table at least ten feet away from me. I felt bad that they weren't with me, while at the same time I was thanking all the gods that they sat far away.

I called out to the barkeep for a beer and threw a coin over. He nodded, with a grim grin and I noticed his missing teeth.

A few moments later a bargirl came over and handed me my drink with a wink. I was confused until I realized I looked like someone she would flirt with. Curse the female gender. That's not right. Curse the males. I'm confused. I need to stay female it makes things so much easier.

I took a swig of my drink and nearly gagged at the bitter taste it left. That was by far the worst drink I have ever had. None the less I kept drinking. I had to keep up appearances after all.

How to start? The odd thing is, is that I was sure I knew exactly how I was going to spread doubt until I actually had to. I took another sip of my drink then started to ramble to myself, like a loon.

"Idiots, the English are coming! The English are coming", I started laughing hysterically hoping that no one actually noticed me. "Trying to defend the front when all of their spies are infiltrating the borders. No, no, no! To careful to attack the sides, to simple-minded. So, we are just going to be unguarded and decimated. Life has a funny way of living! Forces of hundreds of thousands I hear. So, many men, so many deaths, so many battles." I glanced carefully around and noticed I had gained a tiny little congregation of town gossips.

"Forces are to weak, we're going to die, there's a lack of defense. We need the borders, they aren't attacking frontally…" I started to move when I realized I was a tad drunk. I looked down and noticed I had downed my whole beer without noticing.

A burly villager leaned closer to me and whispered a question. I responded immediately like any sane drunk person. "Of course the English have larger forces! It's like an anthill, they keep coming, going to attack the sides I tell ya!" The man looked a little taken back, but was still curious.

The villagers suddenly all pounced on the chance to hear about any information of the war. Questions were thrown left and right, the answers being equally tossed towards them as the bar went into a frenzy of gossip mongers.

Rose and Emmet were in the corner grinning to themselves in a very mischievous way.

Before I even noticed I had ordered another beer, I saw that there were three empty glasses in front of me. I started to get somewhat worried; I can't hold my liquor well. I started to silently panic thinking of all of the things I could accidentally say. Each scenario got worse and worse until I could picture all of England being burned down until all that was left was an empty plain stretching for miles upon miles.

I tried standing and stumbled a few steps, before someone caught my hand and pulled me to the door. I gasped as the light pierced my eyes, and I gagged at the smell surrounding me as I was led through the streets.

I was so drunk that I don't even recall getting to the inn.

I woke with a headache that could kill a turtle. **(Don't laugh at me…)** I rolled over and groaned with the ache in my stomach and the throbbing pain still in my leg. I felt something touch my shoulder and I whipped around to face him.

I pulled a knife from inside my boot and held it to his throat while he choked in surprise and stared wide eyed at me. My hair caressed my face, so I knew my cover was blown anyway, so I could speak normally.

"Who are you?" I demanded quickly.

"The innocent guy who dragged you out of a bar yesterday." He tried to feign innocence and it made me laugh. He looked utterly confused as I held a blade to his throat and giggled.

Before I knew what was happening, he had the blade in his hand and my arm behind my back, with me face down on the cot. This was a predicament.

**I considered ending it here, but then decided not to! Yeah!**

His breathing was rough in my ear, as he whispered that I should probably not move at the moment. I relented and froze against the coarse sheet, as he gently released my arm. The second he was off of me I rolled off of the bed and backed up. I hit the door within moments as he called, "Don't!"

I stood next to the door, with my hand on the handle. For some reason, I really wanted to get an explanation for everything that had just happened.

"Okay, then, who are you?"

"I already answered that, no you didn't, you answered what you did. Who are you?"

He considered it for a moment, then stuck out his hand and said, "Alex, you?"

I thought about lying to him, but for some reason that just didn't seem right. "Bella."

I truly looked at him for the first time really quickly, his hair was a dark black in thick waves, and his eyes were a piercing blue. His nose was delicate and yet still masculine. As I stared at him is was dually noted that he should be considered gorgeous, but all I could think of was the color green.

Alex looked questioningly at me and asked, "Bella? French, right?"

I nodded as he thought for a moment, then in very rough French asked me how I felt. I laughed and continued speaking in Spanish for him.

We had a bit of a small talk conversation, before I finally questioned him, "Why did you pull me out of the bar?"

"You looked like you were trying to leave so I went over and helped, but by the time you had made it outside, I wasn't giving you aid, I was carrying you. So, I brought you back to where I am staying."

I nodded somewhat inconspicuously and then noted that I didn't have my hat. My hat!

"Where is it?" I asked myself aloud as I searched the room, scouring the ground and the cot.

"Where's what?" Alex asked as he too looked around.

"My hat!" He shook his head and reached behind himself, out of his belt he drew a limp piece of fabric and I wanted to run and hug him. I grabbed my hat and spoke, "I have to go, now!"

I turned and rushed out before he could say anything else.

**There you go peoples, that might not be my longest chapter, but it's getting there. **


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